Cover Asian Academy Creative Awards 2025: spotlighting the region’s best dramas
Asian Academy Creative Awards 2025: spotlighting the region’s best dramas
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The Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA) reveal the Best Drama Series National Winners—and this year’s line-up of dramas is an elevated look at the region’s best storytelling
Forget what you think you know about global television; Asia’s studios are setting a new standard for sophistication and scale, proving that the finest dramas today are those that speak to universal truths, be it on an epic battlefield or across seven decades of quiet devotion. Every December, the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA) honours the region’s finest television and film, celebrating stories that capture hearts across 16 nations and territories.
In a landmark year for Asian storytelling, the AACA has revealed its 2025 national winners—a glittering line-up of actors, directors, and creators who will go on to represent their countries at the Grand Awards and Gala Final in Singapore this December. With a record 331 national winners across 16 nations and territories, this year’s edition marks the largest celebration yet of the region’s creative excellence. Some of these titles are already fixtures on global platforms, while others remain acclaimed rare gems at home.
At the announcement held on September 30, AACA Chairperson Beverley McGarvey described this year’s field as “a truly one-stop curation of the best our region has to offer.” The numbers prove her point—a record-breaking number of entries, judges, and participating companies (176 in total) made this one of the most competitive editions in the awards’ history. For producers, buyers, and distributors, the event continues to serve as a vital showcase for Asia-Pacific content and talent that increasingly commands international attention.
This season has been particularly notable, with the coveted Best Drama Series category featuring a 13-way battle. We’re seeing powerful dramas like South Korea’s much-fancied When Life Gives You Tangerines, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Australia), Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty: To The West (Chinese Mainland), India’s Suzhal —The Vortex S2, as well as the returning champion territory, Thailand, with its critically lauded Netflix export, Mad Unicorn. Singapore is proudly represented by Emerald Hill—The Little Nyonya Story, which also earned nods for Best Actress (Jesseca Liu) and Best Supporting Actress (Ivory Chia)—an impressive showing for the home team.
Among this year’s most talked-about contenders are household names and rising stars alike. Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett represents Australia with her Emmy-nominated turn in Disclaimer for Apple TV, while South Korea’s Pachinko actresses Minha Kim and Youn Yuh-jung return to the spotlight under director Arvin Chen, representing Taiwan. Australian actor Jacob Elordi—known for Saltburn and Frankenstein—is also in contention for Best Actor, joined by China’s Li Xian and South Korean favourite Park Bo-gum, both heavyweights in their own right.
Elsewhere, Netflix maintains its stronghold in the scripted categories, sweeping six national wins for India and Thailand with series like Black Warrant while India’s Traitors and Australia’s How To Make Gravy rack up multiple accolades heading into the finals.
The Asian Academy Creative Awards 2025 will culminate in a two-day celebration at Singapore’s Capitol Theatre from December 3 to 4, alongside the two-day annual National Winners Conference (NWC25). This year’s red carpet theme, Culture Glamour—One Red Carpet, A World of Colour, promises a visual spectacle befitting the region’s diversity and flair.
The Asian Academy Creative Awards 2025 will culminate in a celebration at Singapore’s Capitol Theatre on December 4, alongside the two-day annual National Winners Conference (NWC25). This year’s red carpet theme, Culture Glamour—One Red Carpet, A World of Colour, promises a visual spectacle befitting the region’s diversity and flair.
Now in its seventh year, the AACA continues to affirm what audiences already know—that the Asia-Pacific is no longer a supporting act in global entertainment, but a leading voice in its next great chapter.
Here are the essential dramas from the region to add to your must-watch list now.
The Best Drama Series National Winners
Australia: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Adapted from Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel, this is a sweeping WWII saga. Directed by Justin Kurzel, the series charts cruelty, resilience, and the impossibility of forbidden love with genuine cinematic scale. It stars Best Actor contender Jacob Elordi and Ciarán Hinds as Dr Dorrigo Evans, a prisoner-of-war haunted by Odessa Young.
Platform: Prime Video / Curio Pictures
Singapore: Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story
A Peranakan epic of lost daughters, rivalries, and redemption, Emerald Hill courageously reimagines Singapore’s iconic Little Nyonya. As the first Mediacorp drama to stream globally on Netflix, it features award-worthy turns from Best Actress contender Jesseca Liu and nine-year-old Ivory Chia (Best Supporting Actress contender).
Platform: Mediacorp / meWATCH / Netflix
South Korea: When Life Gives You Tangerines
Set in 1960s Jeju, this tender love story of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik unfolds across seven decades of separation and devotion. Led by Best Actor contender Park Bo-gum, this prestige Netflix drama is lyrical, melancholic, and utterly destined for global binge stardom.
Platform: Netflix / PAN Entertainment / Baram Pictures
Philippines: Incognito
This suspense thriller centres on a crew of misfits who join a private military company on perilous missions against the underworld. A story of identity, deception, and second chances, it is primed to land on Netflix, thanks to ABS-CBN’s proven global reach.
Platform: ABS-CBN Studios
Myanmar: Unbreakable Vows
A landmark drama, Unbreakable Vows tackles the subject of domestic violence with courage, following Myat as she seeks escape from an abusive marriage. Finding solidarity with her best friend Su and a compassionate social worker, the drama has been praised for giving a searing yet humane voice to survivors.
Platform: Canal+ Myanmar / Dreamwalkerz
Malaysia: The Secret
When a popular student is found dead, lecturer Johanna suspects foul play. Aided by her best friend Nini, she uncovers trauma and institutional silence in this moody, fearless drama, anchored by performances from Siti Saleha and Remy Ishak.
Platform: Viu / Revolution Media
Japan: Please Die My Beloved
Provocative and darkly satirical, this series became a streaming sensation in Japan. It follows three women trapped in toxic marriages who gather at a bar called Freedom to confess the unthinkable: “Wouldn’t it be easier if our husbands just died?”. It is both bold and unsettling.
Platform: TV Tokyo / Telepack
Indonesia: Malam Pertama (First Night)
A thoughtful revival of the 2003 classic, Malam Pertama reimagines its themes through a viral podcast. The series follows three friends, Astrid, Neneng, and Helen, as they navigate intimacy, family pressure, and personal growth, offering a witty blend of comedy and drama with a sharp, modern feminist lens.
Platform: Vidio Original Series / Sinemart
India: Suzhal – The Vortex S2
From creators Pushkar and Gayatri, this dark, layered, small-town thriller opens with the murder of an activist lawyer, Chellappa, during the nine-day Ashtakaali Festival. As Sakkarai investigates, buried secrets resurface, powerfully blurring the lines between faith, justice, and family in this prestige Indian drama.
Platform: Prime Video
Hong Kong SAR: What If
This ambitious series spans six decades and follows Lok Chak Shun, who was born prematurely in 1960s Hong Kong and whose life splinters into three possible destinies. It is a truly heartfelt, nostalgic, and existential meditation on fate and choice.
Platform: ViuTV / MakerVille
Thailand: Mad Unicorn
Chronicling the journey from the poverty of Doi Wawee to the boardrooms of Bangkok, this series sees Santi risk everything to launch a delivery startup, “Thunder Express,” in a ruthless multi-billion-baht race. With five AACA National Wins, including Best Drama, Actor, Actress, Direction, and Screenplay, it is Thailand’s boldest and most decorated Netflix export to date.
Platform: Netflix / GDH 559
Taiwan: Born for the Spotlight
This show illuminates the rivalry, heartbreak, and survival that lie behind the glamour of show business. Once inseparable actresses Hsueh Ya-chih and Best Actress contender Cheryl Yang (Chou Fan) become bitter adversaries following a wedding-day betrayal. The result is stylish, emotional, and unflinchingly human.
Platform: Netflix / Third Man Entertainment
Chinese Mainland: Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty: To The West
The second season of this lavish costume drama reunites Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming on a perilous westward journey filled with supernatural intrigue and conspiracies. Already crowned “Drama King of the Year” on iQIYI, its visual splendour confirms its candidacy for Best Cinematography (Fiction).
Platform: IQiyi
